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April 11, 2012

update: to address a few of the comments left at this post -- Kal & I actually talked over the phone and had a good conversation. I explained my side of things. She was very understanding. I know some of you are saying that I am being too hard on myself but maybe I just took this position because I've had my work copied very blatantly and then have the person outright deny it. I just needed to take responsibility. This post is not an entire apology, but a call to realization and action. I hope that point wasn't missed. Maybe it was. No, I'm not loosing sleep over this and I don't think 2 lines would have sufficed. I did write this post right after it happened so it may contain some extra emotions but it's written from the heart.

Friends, I did something really un-classy thing last week. I used someone's work without asking, without even knowing it. I didn't realize it was hers. I know, I know. how could I not know?? But it truly just did not even hit me. So I don't even know what's worse. Knowing it and doing it. Or being so ignorant and doing it. Regardless, I owe everyone an apology.

The "be classy" message from the free monthly calendar I posted was not mine to use. It is the work of Kal Barteski. I am embarrassed. The kind of crawl-under-the-bed-and-never-return embarrassed.I acknowledge that it was totally and completely irresponsible of me.

The elements I sometimes use in my designs are from various resource sites. Some time ago, I downloaded a pack of .png files from a source I won't name. I guess I thought this person created all these designs themselves. but that is how I came across Kal's design. Her logo was removed and probably many other designer's logos in this pack of images. Ugh. As a designer, I should know better. No excuses. I take full responsibility. The irony here is that I spoke on a panel with Kal in January about crediting properly!! Wow. I know, I know. This is bad.

I have to first and fore-mostlyapologize to Kal - I am so sorry for the anger, disappointment, and frustration I am sure to have caused through this. I'm sorry for showing such a lack of class and using your design.

and I apologize to you, the readers & the blog community. With improper crediting and artists getting copied being so rampant now and days, I should have been more responsible with the designs I offered to you.

As a designer & blogger - I stand for proper crediting. I stand for responsibility, and doing my research for correct links and sources. So to have used Kal's image so ignorantly in my design goes against everything I try to do.

At ALT we talked about how we, you and I, those who know what is right, need to set the standard. Maybe some people just don't know what is okay and what's not okay. So it has to start with a few doing it right, and hopefully it will pass on. But how can I set good example when I'm doing something that is really not cool? I can't. I hope my experience can show us all how it is so important, now more than ever, to credit properly and link with love. If you are removing someone's logo from something - that is not okay. Who even removes logos from work? It just took one person to remove Kal's logo from her image which went viral on tumblr, uncredited and un-sourced. It's really a shame.

I've learned such a valuable lesson here: to care more and stop being so apathetic to doing proper research. To respect artists and designers, and simply be responsible.

ps: I wasn't sure if I should leave comments open or closed on this one but I've decided to leave them open. If you have any thoughts, want to scold me (which I totally deserve), want to share any of your own experiences so others may know, please do so in the comments below.

I admire you so much for saying this out loud! Yes, accidents happen, whether it's because of our mistakes or someone else but the important thing is that we need to do the right thing in the end and take responsibility. And that is exactly what you have done :) xo

p.s. I hate how people remove credit on websites like weheartit or tumblr. It should be a crime or something (if it already isn't?) I can't tell you how many amazing photos/designs I've come across but was afraid to publish them because I had no idea who the photographer/designer was. And even apart from blogging, just visiting an artist's website to go through their portfolio, learn their name or purchase their designs. Ah...

You are such a good person, Danni! And while unintentional doesn't equal 'ok', it's so nice to see you properly credit the work now.

I remember your ethics panel at ALT and it's definitely caused me to look at links on Tumblr and Pinterest more. So... as much as you feel badly that you made an error, you're also doing your part to raise awareness, too!

Thank you for sharing! You may have already mentioned this already, but do you have a go-to site that allows you to search unsourced images? Does this sort of thing even exist? I find so many things I like, but unsourced, and I would love to know if there a resource out there to help!

I completely understand how this happens! I don't know if it would have helped in this case, but in case you didn't know, google now lets you search by the image itself- just click the camera on the right side of the image searchbar, then drag the image into the searchbar. voila!

This is why I really dislike Tumblr. It really should be shut down. Nothing ever seems to be linked back to the original source. It is an utter mess and it has opened the flood gates to steal, copy, forge, take other people's creations. Link with love is always been my motto. I am absolutely neurotic when it comes to linking to the proper source. Danni, you made a mistake. You admitted it. Just wish there were more people in the world like you my dear! xoxo, Katy

Gosh - one would assume you had killed a bus full of school kids by scanning this blog post and not reading it closely! Aren't there bigger things in the world to apologise for and worry about than mistakenly using an image?

Classy apology but really you were not at fault. If you bought a product, you were correct in assuming the work contained in that product was their own, and that by purchasing it you were okay to use it.

As an artist, I've been in Kal's shoes way too often. The fault was not yours, it lies at the feet of the person you bought the collection from. I hope you contacted them, and I hope they are making amends. After all, they are the ones that grabbed (STOLE!) Kal's work and made a profit off art that was not theirs to sell. Shame on them.

Aw Danni, your such a good soul. I totally agree with Sharyn above, it wasn't your fault but I applaud you for bringing it up. For most bloggers its something near and dear so to hear that someone is doing this to artists and profiting from bloggers is just shameful. Head up, we have all made a mistake here and there, its a learning process and as long as you recognize it and start a discussion about it its the best we can hope for. And strange odds about speaking with Kal about the topic!

Acknowledging our mistakes is a very important thing to do and it's great you are humble enough to do that. However you're being way too hard on yourself... a simple 2 liner apology would have been sufficient but you act like you should be crucified for this! I hope you didn't lose sleep over this because it seems like it from this post. Mistakenly not crediting an image is so so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. You seem like a truly genuine person, keep doing what you're doing.

I KNOW I have seen that on Tumblr without the credit recently.... going back to look. I don't know why it is so difficult to keep the credit on someone's work. I really wish they would enforce sourcing on Tumblr - it would teach the teenagers on there that sourcing is really important.

It reminds us as artists that the graphics and fonts others give us aren't always what we think they are. I hope whoever created that graphic pack is contacted and stopped. That is simply awful. But a good heads up for the rest of us to be careful with what we use.